They draw from various influences-Blaxploitation films like Coffy (1973)-where a smart, strong Pam Grier empowers herself and goes vigilante against organized crime-and Roger Moore’s Bond films-style, luxury, and debonair masculinity are definitive parts of Sean’s undeniable appeal-and even 2015’s sci-fi Ex Machina. “It’s a ’70s aesthetic, but we’re in the future.” Aiko explains. The greatest collaborations yield creations larger than the sum of their parts-imagine “Under Pressure” without Bowie or Mercury, or “Endless Love” without Lionel Ritchie or Diana Ross, or “Dancing In The Streets” without Jagger or (again, God bless the White Duke) David Bowie.Īnd to elevate the rollout of their album, Aiko and Sean conceived a music video short film in which they play adult film stars. She’s one of my favorite people to just be around and kick it with.”įrom the moment they met in producer No I.D.’s studio in Los Angeles in 2012, “It was just very comfortable,” Aiko notes, “I think secretly there’s a little competition-I want my verse to sound better than his, and he wants his to sound better than mine.” But for TWENTY88 the competition makes them thrive. For Sean, it was now-or-never, “We’re in a place where we’re both established, and we’ve laid a lot of groundwork, and it’s really taking it back to just having fun with it.
#Big sean and jhene aiko full
Talk of teaming up to create a full body of work began in the summer of 2015. It touches all these things, but it sounds very cohesive.” “It gets turned up,” adds Sean, “then it gets melodic, then it gets vibed out.
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“It’s a wide range,” says the 28-year-old Aiko. The album also mixes neo-soul, ambient beats, and trap drums courtesy of producers like Da Internz.Īs a whole, TWENTY88-out in April on Def Jam-is a departure from each artist’s individual sounds. The frequent collaborators-most notably on “I Know” off of Sean’s latest album Dark Sky Paradise-have created an album that conjures ’90s R&B and ’70s experimental rock/soul with their eponymous TWENTY88 record. Their chemistry today is a sight to marvel. One only has to mention TomKat or Bennifer to invoke memories of turbulent mass media breakups, bite-size nuggets of drama threading pop culture with painful play-by-plays, and exploitative tabloid recaps. It’s powerful and inspiring to see two souls sharing a sweet fantasy, but it comes with great risk-public scrutiny. “The whole idea of the man and woman duet” Aiko continues, “Especially a whole project, is just good for people to see. I feel like this project is something that’s needed right now.” Sean nods-he currently sits on a couch in his living room in Hollywood Hills. “Music now doesn’t really cater to the feelings of a real relationship,” says Aiko via Skype from New Zealand where she’s on tour. But the context, and the intimacy has shifted (I see you, Instagram), and for Big Sean and Jhené Aiko, their connection is both immediately palpable and on blast for public consumption-every sweet glance, expressed admiration, and symmetric giggle of their productive creative partnership.Īs a duo, Big Sean and Jhené Aiko form TWENTY88-combining an angelic singer songwriter from Los Angeles with a catchy Detroit lyricist-to take us on a journey through a relationship. “He is a certified cat person.June and Johnny, Sonny and Cher, Jane and Serge, pop culture is no stranger to romantic pop duos.
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“He has also got closer to my cats,” she added. RELATED: Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, BTS & More Confirmed To Perform At 2021 GrammysĪiko also spoke about how quarantine has affected her relationship with Big Sean, saying they have “gotten closer” and have been able to “learn more about each other.” She told DeGeneres about the “intention of healing” in her music on her most recent album, Chilombo. “We were just waking up like, ‘What, this is pretty crazy,'” she added.
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And we both woke up to the news sort of in real time like they were announcing and I think I had already had a nomination announced and then he had one announced like right after,” Aiko recalled. “We found out, actually we were on a little road trip vacation. Paak Campaign Grammys To Let Their Band Silk Sonic Perform The R&B star spoke about how both she and boyfriend, Big Sean, were on a road trip when they got the happy news. Jhené Aiko stopped by “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” where she shared how she learned about her Grammy nominations.